Wild Horses- Takhi
This magnificent area is official declared a specially protected area in 1992, and its became a home to Takhi- wild horses. Takhi horses were actually extinct in the wild in the mid of 1960’s. After some successful conservation program reintroduced by a group from Netherlands in the frame of international project, the first 15 wild horses were selected for reintroduction into Mongolia in 1992. As the aims of the breeding program, Hustai National Park has re-established wild Przewalski’s horses in the natural environment. A total of 84 horses representing as broad a genetic basis as possible were reintroduced to the wild through being placed in Hustai National Park. This reintroduction program has proved successful and population has increased over 300 wild horses. Its notable, Przewlski’s horses are different than domestic horses in some significant ways including;
- Przewalski’s horses are neither the ancestors nor descendants of domestic horses
- Wild horses have 66 chromosomes while domestic horses have only 64
- They diverged from one another about 160 thousand years ago as per mitochondrial DNA evidence
- Body size of Przewalski’s horses have stocker build and shorter legs than most domestic horses
- Przewalski’s horses have average 300 to 370 kilograms while domestic horses are on average bigger
- All Przewalski’s horses have a more uniform color than domestic horses